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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676004">Ren's sick, Oscar's scared, Nora's angry, and Jaune's... JAUNE!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weissesnoodles/pseuds/Weissesnoodles'>Weissesnoodles</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>RWBY</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Familial - Freeform, Some Fluff, Team Bonding, ill, is this even angst tho, sick</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:16:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,358</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27676004</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Weissesnoodles/pseuds/Weissesnoodles</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ren is incapable of talking about his physical or mental problems and it emotionally affects the people around him, AKA he gets sick and manages to worry his entire team. Great job, buddy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lie Ren/Nora Valkyrie, flower power - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Ren's sick, Oscar's scared, Nora's angry, and Jaune's... JAUNE!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is my first completed fanfic, and I'm not very good yet, fair warning!<br/>But the Ren angst (also some Oscar too) is a thing I needed to read so it's a thing I needed to write.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When Ren woke up, he immediately regretted it.<br/>	He rolled over, clutching his pillow close to his chest, and let out a shaky breath.<br/>	Every muscle ached. His head was pounding, and when he tried to open his eyes, the world twisted. Even breathing hurt, rattling his chest and throat.<br/>	“Ren? Are...you okay?” Oscar asked.<br/>	Oscar was a very quiet kid, but at the moment, his voice was like a jackhammer. Biting back a whimper, Ren stayed completely still.<br/>	After a second, Jaune said, “he’s probably just rolling around in his sleep. C’mon, Oscar, we’ve gotta get breakfast.”<br/>	The door swished shut.<br/>	That only left Nora. Loud, energetic Nora. Ren never minded it, but he was sure that if she tried to talk to him like he was, he would keel over. So he buried his head under his pillow and waited.<br/>	After what felt like an eternity, his breath warming his face even more, he sat up.<br/>	He was alone.<br/>	But he hadn’t heard Nora leave, had he? Was she still asleep?<br/>	Holding onto the ladder that was bolted between his bed and Oscar’s, Ren shakily stood, and peeked up at Nora’s bed.<br/>	She wasn’t there.<br/>	Oh. Nora had been planning on going out with Blake and Yang to get coffee. That was right.<br/>	Part of Ren wanted to fall right back into bed, and sleep away whatever was wrong with him. But he was supposed to report to training with the others soon. He couldn’t just skip out on them.<br/>	So, instead, Ren got out his clothing and dragged himself to the bathroom to get dressed.<br/>	When he looked in the mirror, he was even paler than usual. On the bright side, if anyone asked, he could blame that on the harsh Atlas lighting. <br/>	But that wouldn’t explain his glassy eyes or slow movements, or the way he was flinching at every loud noise that came from the hall. If his team didn’t notice, he would be more than shocked.<br/>	Ren clumsily put up his hair, then splashed cold water on his face.<br/>	It was refreshing, but his burning forehead quickly removed any relief. Dropping his face against his arm, Ren took a deep breath, and steeled his shoulders.<br/>	The walk to the training room was excruciating. Ren had to stop every few minutes to steady himself against a wall, his eyes scrunched shut. He passed a group of soldiers, shouting commands at each other, and had to plug his ears.<br/>	“Ren!”<br/>	Oh, no.<br/>	“Hi, Neon,” Ren managed.<br/>	She skated up, looping around him with a grin, then slowed to keep pace with him.<br/>	Neon was nearly as much as Nora, without the charm and familiarity. He couldn’t help but cringe away from Neon.<br/>	“Are you okay? You’re not looking too hot,” Neon said.<br/>	Ren nodded, which only made his head spin more, and said, “I didn’t get much sleep, I suppose.”<br/>	He wasn't a fan of lying, but it was better than Neon racing off to tell Jaune-or Heaven forbid, Nora-that he was sick.<br/>	“Well, you’ll need to shake that off, ‘cause you’re going up against team FNKI today!” Neon said. “Clover sent me to come get you, since I’m the fastest.”<br/>	Swallowing a wave of nausea, Ren said, “well, you succeeded. I’ll be there in a minute.”<br/>	With that, Neon spun around to skate backwards, flashed a peace sign, and left in a blaze of rainbow. It burned Ren’s eyes.<br/>	“Urgh.”<br/>	He put a hand over his mouth, willing himself not to collapse.<br/>	Maybe he should have gone back to bed after all.<br/>	Eventually, he did get to the training room. He paused right outside to steady himself, then walked in, already pulling his weapons from their holsters. They felt ridiculously heavy.<br/>	“Ren! You made it,” Oscar said.<br/>	He smiled, and Ren forced himself to return it.	Yes, Ren felt like a garbage pile embodied, but that didn’t give him an excuse to be rude. Especially not to a kid like Oscar.<br/>	They lined up on one side of the training room, facing team FNKI. Ren spotted Ironwood out of the corner of his eyes, looking down at them, and readjusted his grip on his weapons.<br/>Ren couldn’t lose in front of the general. Not after he’d given them their huntsmen licenses, and trusted them with the relic of knowledge.<br/>The fight began by team FNKI splitting up, as<br/>usual. Neon went for Oscar, while Ivori took on Jaune.<br/>	Nora began playing a bizarre version of whack-a-mole, aiming for Flynt’s duplicates. What would happen if she hit the real one with her hammer, Ren wasn’t sure, but he didn’t have time to think about it. <br/>	Kobalt was gunning for him.<br/>	Strong, fast, and spry, Kobalt was pretty much the exact opposite of what Ren wanted to fight that day.<br/>	Ren blasted the ground beneath Kobalt’s feet, sending him stumbling back, and took the chance to duck behind a nearby pillar.<br/>	No, hiding wasn’t a good option, but it was better than being hit.<br/>	Or maybe it wasn’t. Ren really, really didn’t want to lose, but he couldn’t keep up for long. And staying in the fight would mean his team would be depending on him when he wasn’t dependable.<br/>	With a groan, he spun outwards, blasting at where Kobalt had been.<br/>	He wouldn’t throw the fight. He couldn’t, in all honesty. It went against everything in him to even consider it.<br/>	“Oscar!”<br/>	Jaune’s shouting distracted Ren, and he turned to find Jaune standing over a fallen Oscar, Neon hovering nervously behind him.<br/>	“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Oscar said, scrambling to stand up. “I just didn’t see her coming.”<br/>	A blur of blue came around Ren’s side, and he put up one arm just in time. Kolbalt’s strength knocked him back anyway.<br/>	Mouth upturned into a thin smile, Kolbalt said, “keep your head in the fight, Farmboy’s fine.”<br/>	Kolbalt attacked again, and it was everything Ren could do not to fall. He blocked every one of Kolbalt’s lightning-quick punches, only to get kicked in the ribs.<br/>	Pain arched up Ren’s chest and back down to his knees as he stumbled.<br/>	“I barely hit you,” Kolbalt said.<br/>	He paused, waiting for Ren to recover.<br/>	With the break in attacks, Ren realized there wasn’t any other noise. Everyone was watching them, including Nora, who’s eyes were wide.<br/>	“Hey, pause the fight, pause the fight,” Jaune said.<br/>	He started towards Ren, but Ren held up a hand to stop him.<br/>	Kobalt glanced over to Flynt. He was standing with Nora, and Nora was clutching his arm. Looking down at her, then back to Kobalt, Flynt nodded towards the door.<br/>	“We’ll let you guys off early, alright? Pick it back up tomorrow,” Flynt said.<br/>	He patted Nora’s head, then headed out with his team on his heels. Neon was the last one out, an uncharacteristic frown on her face, then the doors shut.<br/>	Ren stuffed his weapons back into their holsters, gasping for air as subtly as he could. <br/>	Part of him was glad team FNKI had called it off, but mostly, he was embarrassed. Especially that it had happened in front of the general.<br/>	Ren wanted to be worthy of his huntsman title. He wanted to do well in training to repay Atlas’ kindness.<br/>	And today, he’d failed.<br/>	“Ren,” Oscar said.<br/>	He was at Ren’s elbow-how did he get there without Ren noticing?-eyebrows drawn close together. <br/>	Digging his nails into his palm in attempt to keep his voice steady, Ren asked, “what is it, Oscar?”<br/>	Why was Oscar suddenly so tall?<br/>	Then he realized he was on his knees, swaying from side-to-side. Oscar clutched at Ren’s shoulders, trying to help, and said something.<br/>	All Ren could hear was a muffled ringing.<br/>	Then his face was pressed against the tile, and his eyes closed.</p>
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<p>	Something fluffy was resting on Ren’s chest, tickling his chin.<br/>	Blinking, he glanced down.<br/>	Nora.<br/>	Ren let out a small chuckle, which turned into a cough, and Nora bolted upright.<br/>	Her hair was smushed away from her face. One cheek had an imprint, a red mark from her hand being under her head as she slept. <br/>Ren reached out to smooth her hair, but she caught his arm, demanding, “Li Ren, how could you?”<br/>Freezing, Ren stared.<br/>“You were sick! You were sick, and you went to training, and fought, and if Jaune hadn’t healed you it probably would’ve turned into the plague or something, and-and-you should’ve told me.”<br/>Half of her words were near unintelligible with how high-pitched she went, but Ren was used to it.<br/>“I’m sorry,” he said.<br/>Nora jabbed a finger at his chest, blinking hard, and said, “you’re going to be, when Oscar gets back.”<br/>“What?”<br/>“You made him cry, did you know that? You terrified him, collapsing like that, and he just lost it.”<br/>Ren’s hand dropped to his side.<br/>“I didn’t mean to scare him.”<br/>Sighing, Nora sat back down on the edge of Ren’s bed, and said, “I know.”<br/>Silence filled the room. Ren let his eyes wander, and realized they were in what looked like an infirmary. He was propped up on a pillow, and Nora had a chair pulled close to his side, but she obviously hadn’t been using it.<br/>Across from the bed was a wall with four windows, showing the hallway. Doctors passed by.<br/>“I know our communication hasn’t been great lately, but I… I never expected you to keep something like this from me,” Nora said.<br/>Ren tilted his face away, hiding behind a curtain of loose hair.<br/>Then, before Nora could say anything else, the door opened.<br/>“Ren!”<br/>	Dive-bombing the bed, Jaune dropped a cup of coffee on the nightstand, then grabbed Ren.<br/>	He cradled Ren close with both arms, as if they hadn’t seen each other in weeks. Ren could feel his eyes begin to drift closed.<br/>	His headache had already been gone, and he couldn’t feel any remnant of a fever, but with Jaune hugging him, Ren felt even better. Like he could jump out of bed right away, though Nora would set her hammer on him if he tried.<br/>	“Oh, never do that again! I thought Kobalt had broken one of your ribs or something,” Jaune said.<br/>	He laughed, but it was his high-pitched laugh of relief, not out of humor.<br/>	Jaune pulled away, smiling wide, and said, “I’m gonna go tell Oscar you’re awake, alright? He was worried.”<br/>	“So I heard,” Ren mumbled.<br/>	Falling back against his pillow, Ren sighed. Nora laid down beside him, snuggling into his side, and put her head on his shoulder.<br/>	The door closed. Assuming it would take a while for Jaune to get back, Ren buried his face in Nora’s hair and let himself relax. In no time, he was in a stupor. Then he was asleep.</p>
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<p>	Ren’s arm was being viciously shaken, like a chew toy in the grip of a dog.<br/>	He peeked through his eyelashes to find Nora glaring down at him, with Oscar hovering behind her.<br/>	“No, no, let him rest! Nora-” Oscar waved his hands frantically.<br/>	“It’s alright. I’m already awake.”<br/>	Ren used his free arm to push himself up against his pillows, wrenching his other out of Nora’s grip. She backed up and allowed Oscar to take her place.<br/>	As always, he seemed nervous. Even after weeks, Oscar wouldn’t make firm eye-contact with anyone, and this time he was barely even looking up. Ren’s heart panged.<br/>	He was so young, he shouldn’t be that nervous about anything. <br/>	Not that Ren knew a lot about normal, stress-free childhoods, but regardless.<br/>	“Are you okay?” Oscar asked quietly.<br/>	Ren nodded, giving Oscar a smile, and said, “Jaune healed me well.”<br/>	“It wasn’t really me, the medicine did most of it-” Jaune said.<br/>	Ignoring him, Ren inspected Oscar’s face. Then, he reached out and pulled Oscar into a hug, blinking back the burning of tears behind his eyes.<br/>	“I’m sorry that I scared you,” Ren said.<br/>	Oscar’s tiny hands grabbed Ren’s back, squeezing. Before Ren even realized it, Oscar’s shoulders began to shake, and he buried his head in Ren’s shoulder.<br/>	“Oscar…” Nora said, trailing off.<br/>	She crept closer, then ran a gentle hand over Oscar’s hair.<br/>	If it hadn’t already been obvious, that would have tipped Ren off to how awful Oscar felt. Nora didn’t do anything gently, especially not when it came to showing affection.<br/>	“Hey. Oscar.” Ren paused. “What is it? This isn’t just you being scared, is it?”<br/>	Oscar partly fell into the bed, and Ren pulled him closer. Nora sat on Oscar’s other side, rubbing circles on his upper back, while Jaune looked on.<br/>	After a moment, through a hiccup, Oscar said, “I thought-I thought it was my fault. Cause I got hit, and distracted you, and-and-”<br/>	He broke off, hot tears landing on Ren’s arm.<br/> 	“Oh, Oscar, no! You should’ve told me that was what was upsetting you,” Nora said. “Ren’s problems had nothing to do with that.”<br/>	Jaune piped up, crossing the room to sit at the end of the bed, with, “he had a bruise on his stomach, but that was it. The real problem was that Ren’s too stubborn to tell us when he’s sick, apparently.”<br/>	Sniffing, Oscar pulled away to wipe at his eyes.<br/>	“Oscar.”<br/>	Ren waited for him to look up, then continued, “even if I had gotten hurt because you had distracted me, it wouldn’t be your fault. I should have trusted you, and Jaune and Nora, instead of turning to look.”<br/>	“I know,” Oscar said quietly.<br/>	He looked down at his hands, like they were the most interesting thing in the world.<br/>	“So you’ll stop beating yourself up now?” Nora asked.<br/>	All three of them stared at Oscar.<br/>	He nodded.<br/>	“Good,” Jaune said.<br/>	Slinging her arms around Oscar, then making grabby-hands at Ren and Jaune, Nora said, “group hug!”<br/>	With a soft smile, Ren let them pull him in.<br/>	His eyes were full of black, yellow, and orange hair, and he positioned his face so that it was above Nora’s head.<br/>	Planting a small kiss on her temple, he silently held his team tighter.</p>
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